Computer assisted methodologies for navigating from one location to another in either an indoor or outdoor environment are generally known as wayfinding, and these computer assisted methods are typically implemented in computer applications running on mobile communication devices. Wayfinding applications generally operate to detect a starting point, accept input from a user specifying a desired destination location that they would like to move to, and then provide guidance to the user that allows them to find their way to the specified destination location. This guidance can be displayed in the form of a virtual route superimposed on a floor plan or street map, the guidance can be in the form of turn by turn instructions based upon a current location of the use, or the guidance can be provided in the form of a virtual images of the interior of a building that correspond to the current position of the user and that shows the direction that the user should move.
Some indoor wayfinding applications can utilize wireless signals transmitted by fixed point transmitters such as beacons, WIFI routers or Bluetooth devices to determine a current position or starting point of a mobile device running the application, while other indoor wayfinding applications can rely upon a three-dimensional image map of the interior of a building, and then matching real-time images to mapped images to identify a current location of a user. Once the current location of the user is known, the application can generate directions for the user to follow to a destination.